ORANGE CITY, Fla. – A new road has become a direct route to aggravation for one homeowner in Orange City. The road, Dahlia Lane, was built higher than the woman’s property.
Bonnie Heiser, 73, has lived in the neighborhood for nearly 20 years. For most of that time, it was a dirt road.
“All of this was done in ‘84 when we built the house because in compliance with zoning, my house had to be a foot above the road, which is what I did. Not this road!” Heiser said.
The land that she sold nearby for her retirement needed the street. Heiser told us crews were supposed to build a road, sidewalk and retention wall, however, the project took a turn.
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According to Heiser, because the road was built higher than her property, water flows from the street — every time it rains — down the ditch and into her yard.
“My yard is sinking from the constant water flow in there. It’s still wet. You can see my foot sinking in, I’m afraid we’ll get a sinkhole there,” Heiser said.
It is not just the water. Heiser told us anyone can see over her fence into her backyard and pool.
News 6 reached out to Orange City to try to get results. In a statement, a spokesperson said in part, “The city’s engineering department has been working with the developer to resolve this issue. This segment of road needs to include a concrete gravity wall immediately adjacent to the resident’s property line with a sidewalk that slopes back toward the roadway to eliminate drainage onto the resident’s property,” adding “the developer is in the process of bringing a new engineer on board for this segment of roadway.”
After News 6 followed up with city officials, a spokesperson said the gravity wall will be built once the engineer can provide modified plans.
There is no timeline of when the work will get done, according to that spokesperson.
We reached out to the developer, Calico Properties, who hired the engineer to design the road. It said construction is “already moving at the fastest pace possible,” and that it is in permitting.
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